A great retrospective look at a long career within the genre. Stylistically, their sound hasn’t changed much – brooding drones with incidental stabs of unexpected nihilism, sparsely populated with unexpected, chilling textures, and steering well clear of such archaic conventions as rhythm, melody or time signatures.
Tag: 2010
zNo – I
As a whole, zNo is a good example of what characterizes some of the more aggressive and intelligent contemporary French underground electronics, especially metal-influenced industrial (without veering into rock territory) and comparisons to acts like Sonic Area and Le Diktat may come to mind.
Tom Badsekta – Best of 2010
The first podcast from me this year is my “Best of 2010” (download + tracklisting here) but the choices deserve some explanation, especially as I think there are a few [ … ]
Free releases
Aloo “Klangbild” (Astor Bell) Cagey House “Flapper With Tuba” (Fwonk*) Cagey House “Ratty Boo” (Bump Foot) Eustachian “The Sphagnum Bog” (Grindcore Karaoke) Foretaste “Reproduced” Tyler, The Creator “Bastard” (OFWGKTA) Various [ … ]
Tzolk’in – Tonatiuh
The broad spectrum of sounds created by Tzolk’in on “Tonatiuh” will appeal to followers of industrial, ambient and even some psytrance; it’s a wonderful illustration of tribal sensibilities, executed in a contemporary, cutting-edge electronic medium. Powerful, stirring stuff, indeed.
Lucidstatic – Symbiont Underground
Despite the fluid shifts in mood each contributing artist brings to “Symbiont Underground”, this double album is a pleasure to listen to, gathering influence from a broad spectrum of genres and laying it all out over two CDs of what remains, in essence, pure Lucidstatic nastiness, made all the more offensive via distillation through the ears and machines of some of the most talented collaborators in the evolving industrial community.
Celluloide – Hexagonal
For all you synthpop lovers out there, especially if you like to flirt with electronic body music, or if you are rather moved by the voices of French ladies, this one would be a well-deserved addition to your collection. And if you only quite like synthpop, have a listen anyway, you might like what you hear.
Parhelion – Midnight Sun
“Midnight Sun” wastes no time: upon its opening it immediately thrusts the listener into the crushing, icy winds of the vacant arctic tundra… At low volume levels it may seem boring and no different from similar albums, but at a mid-level volume on a good system this album really comes alive and all its nuances are exhumed from beneath blackened ice.
Kinetix / Pylône – Sonology
Both artists are masters of subtle movement and minuscule fluctuations, and both also express an aesthetic that escapes the constraints of time, casting the listener into uncharted depths filled with drones and half-formed sentience. “Sonology” is an excursion in perception and sublimity, and a fine example of artistic alignment.
Dirk Geiger – Autumn Fields
Dirk Geiger’s first release on Tympanik Audio was something of a surprise, once given the chance to properly sink in. A fluid blend of glitch, IDM and field-recordings from daily life, this album can be something of an immersive experience, all it requires are the right mindset and listening conditions to click.